U.S. President Donald Trump meets with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey during the U.N. General Assembly in New York, U.S., Sept. 21, 2017. (Reuters photo)
ANKARA, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- Arrest of a local employee working at the U.S. Consulate General in Istanbul over charges of "espionage" ignited new unease to already strained ties between Ankara and Washington.
Metin Topuz, with Turkish nationality, was remanded in custody by an Istanbul court late Wednesday on accusations of "political and military espionage" and "attempting to remove the constitutional order," according to state-run Anadolu Agency.
The United States expressed immediate discontent over the arrest of Topuz, who was allegedly linked to the followers of the U.S.-based Fethullah Gulen accused by Ankara of plotting a failed coup attempt on July 15, 2016.
The United States also criticized the way of conducting the arrest of its employee, saying that the allegations on Topuz "are wholly without merit."
"The United States Government is deeply disturbed by the arrest of a locally-employed staff member of the U.S. Consulate General Istanbul on Oct. 4, and by leaks from Turkish government sources seemingly aimed at trying the employee in the media rather than a court of law," the U.S. Embassy said in a written statement on Thursday.
"We will continue to engage with the Government of Turkey to ensure that employees of the U.S. Government, as well as American citizens in Turkey, are accorded due legal process in accordance with the Turkish constitution and international legal norms," read the statement.
The embassy stressed that "baseless and anonymous against our employees undermine and devalue this longstanding partnership."
Metin Topuz was detained four days ago under great secrecy over security reasons and arrested on Wednesday.
Anadolu said Topuz had connections with former police chiefs and a fugitive prosecutor Zekeriya Oz, who is believed to be members of the Gulen movement, now listed by Ankara as a terror group called Fethullah Terrorist Organization.
Zekeriya Oz was a prominent actor of the December 2013 corruption probe, which targeted some members of the Turkish government and the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).
Authorities have determined "intense phone conversations" of Topuz with Adil Oksuz, one of the key suspects of July 15 coup attempts, and his colleagues, Turkey's Presidential Spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin said in a televised interview on Thursday.
"There is a judicial process ongoing. He will be questioned. The process is conducted within the framework of the evidence," he added.
Kalin underlined that every country must address its own interests in international relations.
In a statement released late Thursday, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said the name of the suspect is not among the official list of staff of the U.S. Consulate General in Istanbul, and he does not have a diplomatic immunity.
The relations between Turkey and its traditional ally the United States have gone from uneasy to challenging after the coup attempt last year.
Turkey's demand for extradition of Gulen falls on deaf ears in Washington as the latter asks for more evidence.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan earlier said that Ankara had sent "85 boxes of concrete evidence" regarding Gulen Movement's involvement in the coup attempt for assessment by U.S. judiciary, but no steps have been taken yet.
Another local employee of the U.S. consulate in the southern province of Adana, Hamza Ulucay, was arrested on charges of being a member of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) on March 7.
The U.S. support for Syrian Kurdish fighters of People's Protection Units (YPG) and the Syrian Democratic Union Party (PYD) also fuels the tension between the two NATO allies.
